Texans' O'Brien feels short-changed on key calls

Fourth-down failure, Hopkins' vanishing TD deepen frustration

Oakland Raiders running back Latavius Murray (28) celebrates the Raiders 27-20 win over the Houston Texans during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game at Estadio Azteca on Monday, Nov. 21, 2016, in Mexico City. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle ) less

Oakland Raiders running back Latavius Murray (28) celebrates the Raiders 27-20 win over the Houston Texans during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game at Estadio Azteca on Monday, Nov. 21, 2016, in Mexico ... more

Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff

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The threat of the Raiders' dynamic offense forced Texans coach Bill O'Brien, left, to be more aggressive with the Brock Osweiler-led offense in the fourth quarter.

The threat of the Raiders' dynamic offense forced Texans coach Bill O'Brien, left, to be more aggressive with the Brock Osweiler-led offense in the fourth quarter.

After Carr and Olawale had brought the Raiders back to a 20-20 tie with just over 10 minutes left, the Texans got a 39-yard kick return from Akeem Hunt and methodically drove down the field against a Raiders defense that was starting to have its problems in the altitude of Estadio Azteca.

The Texans had a first down at the Raiders 24, and consecutive runs by Lamar Miller gave the Texans a third-and-two. Miller carried again and was pushed out of bounds near the first-down marker.

The ball was spotted at the 15 after a measurement. So O'Brien faced a dilemma. Kick the field goal and go up by three points with a little over six minutes left, or go for it.

But when the referees measured, it was perhaps less than inches short.

Out came O'Brien's challenge flag. But after further review, as they saying goes, the ruling on the field stood as called.

"I could have challenged both calls," O'Brien said. "I'm not going to stand here and get fined. I'm just a third-year coach. But with all these cameras and things we have and we can't get that right?'

The Raiders took over on their 15 and scored in five quick plays to take a 27-20 lead. Whether they would have scored a touchdown after a Texans field goal …

"They have a good team and we knew they could score," O'Brien said.

The Texans faced another fourth-down decision on their ensuing drive - officially fourth-and-five from their own 44 - but O'Brien decided to punt rather than go for it.

"It looked more like it was fourth-and-six, so with maybe 3:15 left, I thought we could try to pin them deep and make a stop," he said. "If we had to do it over again, I'd go for it."

Instead, the Raiders got a 15-yard return on Shane Lechler's punt and started on their 20. On second down, Carr found running back Jalen Richards for a 29-yard pass that essentially ended the game.

It left O'Brien and the Texans wondering what if and pondering calls they thought should have gone their way, going all the way back to the first quarter when DeAndre Hopkins was ruled out of bounds on what looked like a 60-yard pass and run from Brock Osweiler for a touchdown.

Replays showed Hopkins didn't go out of bounds but O'Brien couldn't challenge the call because the official had blown the play dead when he thought Hopkins stepped out at the Raiders 36-yard line.

"If you want to talk about (challenges), let's go back to that one," O'Brien said. "Did he look out of bounds to you? I had the flag out, but they told me I couldn't challenge."

Instead, the Texans ended up settling for a field goal on the drive.

It was just enough, in the end for the Raiders, who have made a habit of dramatic wins this season to tie the Patriots with the best record in the AFC at 8-2 and take a one-game lead in the AFC West.

The Texans - now 6-4 but still the presumptive AFC South champ and No. 3 seed in the playoffs - were left to mull the what-ifs.